Extra money in your pocket is always welcome, but without a strategy it can disappear as soon as it arrives and almost without us noticing. Be it the Supplementary Annual Salary (SAC), the bonus for those who work in a dependent relationship, a company bonus, higher sales for seasonal sales or pesos that could be easily taken out of the budget and saved, The key is knowing how to use them for valuable goals.
The bonus comes at a time of year with high economic demand, parties, gifts, celebrations and holidays. In this context, planning its use is the golden rule to avoid impulsive spending and manage to transform this extra income into a tool that will facilitate the beginning of 2026.
“This additional money can be a great ally if targeted. The most effective decisions start with the basics: separating goals and organizing costs,” explains Vanesa Di Trolio, Business Manager at Reba, adding: “There is no ‘right’ goal, but conscious goals.” Being clear about what this money is for will help reduce the impact of seasonal spending and anticipate needs in subsequent months.”
The first step must then be to set priorities. Paying off “bad” debt, if any, and setting aside a percentage for long-term investments should be at the top of the list. “Bad debts,” from a personal finance perspective, are those that are overwhelming and incur high costs, such as unpaid credit card balances, consumer loans, or disorganized personal loans. A mortgage loan, on the other hand, does not fall into this category.
Another important goal is to build up an emergency fund, which should not be missing as insurance against unforeseen events. How do you calculate it? This equates to between three and six months of essential fixed and variable expenses. This money should be held in very low-risk investments or in dollars and only used in a truly unforeseen and urgent situation. Job loss, illness, urgent home or car repairs, etc.
For those who have never invested before or, for example, have not thought about setting up a special fund for retirement planning, the annual allowance can be a good starting point.
“A practical rule for prioritization is to divide the bonus into three parts: 30% for 2026 goals, 40% for unavoidable summer expenses and 30% for leisure consumption.to balance immediate needs and medium-term goals,” suggests Di Trolio.
Alternatives to investing? They depend on the goals, the period in which the money is needed and the investor’s willingness to take risks. To meet different profiles, specialists’ proposals are usually divided into more conservative options, suitable even in the short term, and alternatives with a greater portion of boldness – in search of greater profitability – which always require long-term maturation.
Puente’s consulting team first conducts a strategic analysis of the situation and then makes concrete recommendations. “We must remember that interest rates are on a downward trend both internationally and locally. Therefore, by positioning yourself now at current yields, you are securing an investment with potentially more attractive returns than those we will find at the beginning of 2026.”
In this context, “we consider it appropriate to position ourselves in tradable US dollar bonds of leading companies in Argentina or from solid provinces, offering yields between 7 and 8% for medium to long-term maturities.”
For investors looking for returns in pesos, “Lecaps for around six months and double bonds with the Tamar interest rate and maturing towards the end of 2026,” suggests Puente.
The challenge for the coming months is to set attractive interest rates on fixed income instruments such as bonds, bills, exchange guarantees and even bank guarantees, always taking into account the annual performance of each of these options when making the decision. With lecaps you can earn annual interest that, depending on the term, is between 26% and 30% higher than what banks currently offer for fixed-term deposits, which is around 23%.
Virtual wallets and mutual funds should be reserved for money used in the month as their performance fluctuates daily and if reference interest rates tend to fall, their path will go in the same direction.
The alternative in pesos that the IOl Strategies team highlights is the Boncer due June 2026 (TZX26): “It is a CER-adjusted bond with an estimated yield of more than 5.8% per annum, which is attractive for generating a return above inflation.”
Banza Adcap’s research team begins by pointing out that “bonus portfolios, by their nature, would be ideal for increasing returns in the medium and long term. In this sense, diversification into dollar instruments responds to this premise by allowing to preserve the value of capital and take advantage of hard currency opportunities.”
In this sense, for the most conservative profiles, they propose to invest 25% in common investment funds (FCI) such as Adcap Ahorro y Renta (both in dollars) and the rest in Bopreal 2027, as well as two short-term tradable bonds: the AER10, issued by Aeropuertos Argentina 2000, and that of YPF, with a coupon of 6.95% and a maturity in 2027.
For a moderate profile, always from Banza Adcap, they add, among others, Pampa Energía corporate bonds with a coupon of 7.95% and a maturity in 2031, as well as other longer-term YPF loans. like YMCXO and YFCJO (YPF Luz)
The IOL strategy team’s proposal for investors willing to take risk with part of the bonus is a combination of Argentine stocks and cedarwood with geographical and sector diversification. These include two energy companies: “Vista Energy, which is trading at the same levels as a year ago but with income growth of more than 80%, and YPF, which maintains a solid level of income generation.”
For diversification: S&P500, the index that includes the 500 most important companies in the United States and can be invested in pesos through an ETF Cedar and the tech stock with Meta Platforms. “It is one of the most important technology companies in the world, investing in artificial intelligence to boost its advertising business and develop new products, keeping its share price at a level similar to that at the beginning of the year, but with a business that does not stop growing,” they analyze in IOL.
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